The iPad will save the publishing industry. Steve Jobs says so and he has found an ever growing band of publishers to follow him to the promised land of media that people will pay for and that advertisers will embrace. This is a tantalizing prospect, with minimal manufacturing and distribution costs for the former and unlimited creative and commerce opportunities for the latter. Truly, it does not get better than that.

Naturally in all good things there is the odd tiny wrinkle to overcome. Let's ask ourselves a question: how many iPads and their kin do there need to be in the market in order for them to be taken seriously as needle moving mass penetration media? For the fun of it let's say 20 million. Sounds like a big number and one that will keep Apple's stock price where the air is thin. But still way less than 10% of the population. Anyway, assume that's OK and given advertiser interest so far it will make for a lively market, but consider this. By the time 20 million tablets are in the market how many apps do we suppose there will be in the app store? I, of course, have no idea but guess it won't be less than 500,000.

If that turns out to be true it will make the notion of 500 channel television universe with which we concerned ourselves not long ago a rather nostalgic and quaint thought. It might also be a source of learning. The 500 channel universe did not quite wreak the havoc on television that most of us predicted, as it became evident that the paradox of choice applied and that individuals soon found a low double digit number of choices that consumed the vast majority of their viewing time. Outside of 20 or so channels, the long tail of television is very long indeed.

For Mr. Jobs to be right in his predictions of salvation, the paradox of choice needs to apply again. Publishers, content developers (call them what you will) need to establish themselves as part of the short tail of media choice and hope that "habit" becomes the barrier to entry that maintains the size and the attention of their audiences.

The big question is 'how do you do that?' In my mind this is a simultaneous equation of managing distribution and content. To succeed in distribution, publishers need a combination of promotion and packaging. It helps that people know your app exists and it helps also if it's seen as a value purchase. The former will require a willingness to spend money and to risk self cannibalization. The latter will require innovative pricing and bundling models as it seems likely to me that people will more likely buy content bundles than individual issue or single title subscription access. In such an environment certain titles will anchor packages and to those (as with ESPN on television) will go the richer share of revenue.

On the content side "the solve" is every bit as complex. Editors and publishers need to look at the purpose of their products and why they are valuable to their audiences. They need to reimagine that purpose in the context of multimedia, immediacy, depth and interactivity. They need to ask the question as to the degree and the occasion in which each of these add value, and apply them judiciously. It must be tempting, for example for Sports Illustrated to get into the breaking news and live scores business but can it ever compete in that area with ESPN or MLB ? I think not. SI, to borrow a phrase, is, like Time, the first draft of history. They are providers of depth, analysis and context in a world increasingly distracted by generation blurt. The iPad allows them to pursue that mission with more depth and more multimedia but there is little value in adding immediacy in their case. You get the idea.

When do I matter most? How can I matter more? Two questions that the content owner needs to focus on, and the rest of us might think about them as well. Advertisers have a history of embracing media that matter to their audiences. Despite the increasing trend to separate audiences from context, there will always be a market in reach, attention and influence. Publishers around the world know a lot about all three. Those that execute have the opportunity to establish audience habit, which is the ultimate first mover advantage.

Rob Norman is a member of the GroupM Global Executive Committee and is CEO of GroupM Interaction Worldwide. Rob’s principle tasks are developing the interaction organization within GroupM, developing positioning and thought leadership and leading the interaction contribution to business development. Rob can be reached at rob.norman@groupm.com.

Rob Norman

Rob Norman works with multiple enterprises in media distribution, creation and research, and companies developing new technologies in advertising and marketing.
Rob continues to advise GroupM where he served as Global Chief Digital Officer until the end...